I'm sitting in the railway station.
Got a ticket to my destination.
On a tour of one-night stands my suitcase and guitar in hand.
And every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-man band.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.

Every day's an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines.
And each town looks the same to me, the movies and the factories
And every stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be,
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.

Tonight I'll sing my songs again,
I'll play the game and pretend.
But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.
Silently for me.

16 Comments

General CommentI think that they wrote this song about their experiences while touring as musicians and just getting tired of living in a different place every night. It expresses their desire to back with their loved ones in a farmiliar setting. The song portrays a bit of homsesickness I think.

General CommentGhad, that song is so much more meaningful than someone missing their warm beds and pets. To me it is about deep longing and desire for some kind of escape from the loneliness and solitude that all people feel at times. In times of strife or isolation we tend to hark back upon the past and yearn for a time when we were happy. However, that place can never come back in the form that it was once in, but we can’t help wanting it, however silly it may be to:

Tonight I'll sing my songs again,
I'll play the game and pretend.
But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me.

To me that is the best part of the entire song. I think that wishing for something that is foolish to wish for and then looking back and feeling weak is an universal feeling.
What a great song.

General CommentThe song was first thought of by Paul Simon on a cold rainy night on Widnes railway station near Liverpool England, part way through a tour.
As other comments brilliant lyrics for 2 guys starting out without the trappings of riches roadies and Rolls Royces......If only they knew what was to follow.
At this time in England they also wrote Scarborough Fayre from an old English folk song.. Beautiful and haunting try to listen to it!

General CommentWhile Homeward Bound Does indeed seem one of homesickness, I think that S&G intend home in a broader sense. The home they long for is more of a respite from a rambling life, not simply a house.

General CommentTHANK YOU starangel. The percussion really ruins the studio version of this song. Far superior is the acoustic version to be found on "S&G's Greatest Hits" which also has a nicer musical arrangement at the end of verse 2. Worth getting hold of.

General CommentI take this song to be about making a living out of something you enjoy doing but after so long it all becomes tedious. The repetition of "home" acentuates that he feels so strongly of being in his place of comfort when he feels confused and tired. "Home where my thought's escaping" means that he doesn't dwell on his thoughts as he would when he is without his loved one, he just lets them get out. I love this song. It defines monotony and reminds me to do something with my day. Very talented musicians. They know how to write about more than love and death.

General CommentMy favorite version of this song was when Paul Simon performed an acoustic with George Harrison on Saturday Night Live. Their voices worked so well together, just like it was Art Garfunkel at Simon's side. Beautiful

General Commentive heard this is about paul simon wanting to be back in america when he was at a train station in england touring ?? i love this song thou i love simon and garfunkels harmonys i think its a bout someone missing their 'home' (not necessarily a house) wherever that may be and that they just dont feel as comftable when there not there i love the line home, where my musics playing, home where my love lies waiting silently for me

General CommentGhad, that song is so much more meaningful than someone missing their warm beds and pets. To me it is about deep longing and desire for some kind of escape from the loneliness and solitude that all people feel at times. In times of strife or isolation we tend to hark back upon the past and yearn for a time when we were happy. However, that place can never come back in the form that it was once in, but we can’t help wanting it, however silly it may be to:

Tonight I'll sing my songs again,
I'll play the game and pretend.
But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me.

To me that is the best part of the entire song. I think that wishing for something that is foolish to wish for and then looking back and feeling weak is an universal feeling.
What a great song.